Centered on Waltham’s beautiful Common at the corner of Main and Moody Streets, the Watch City Steampunk Festival is the great outdoor festival of the Steampunk genre—a cultural and social movement melding elements of Victorian-era history and fashion with retro-futuristic technology.

Watch City 2015 will featuring a broad array of theatrical and musical performers as well as clothing, jewelry, art, and food vendors. The Festival is will also include kids programming, making this most definitely a family friendly event, as well.

Watch City Steampunk FestivalCode of Conduct

This code of conduct is in effect as of February 15, 2018

The Downtown Waltham Partnership, Inc. wants the Watch City Steampunk Festival (hereinafter referred to as WCSF or The Festival) to be a safe, enjoyable event for everyone. We recognize that we cannot enforce this code of conduct on our attendees, given that the event takes place in a public location, but committee members, volunteers, staff and other Festival personnel, vendors, and performers are required to abide by the WCSF code of conduct when engaging in WCSF-related activities.

We acknowledge that interpersonal relationships in social settings are complex. Not everyone likes everyone else, and not everyone agrees with everyone else. Disagreements, friction, and vigorous debate are expected. In particular, this Code of Conduct is not intended to interfere with ordinary civil speech and/or panel discussions, even when people disagree about controversial topics. However, interactions that become hostile or coercive do not have any part in a healthy social environment.

Harassment is difficult to define, and attempts at an exact definition are subject to interpretation. Different people have different boundaries, and we all need to be respectful of that. If someone asks you not to touch them, not to talk to them, or not to refer to them in a way that they find objectionable, it’s best to stop. Repeated unwelcome behaviors are likely to be construed as harassment. Actions that are sufficiently egregious (assault, threatening language, and comparable actions) fall under this policy even if no previous incident has occurred.

We ask that you be considerate and respectful of all Festival attendees, fellow vendors, performers and staff. Please refrain from use of obscenities or foul language, as this is a family-friendly event. Please respect the requests of Festival staff and supervisors, and representatives of the City of Waltham, especially the Waltham Police and Fire Department.

Additionally, we expect that all merchandise, wares and trade practices conform to all federal, state, and local laws and legal requirements and all requirements and restrictions of the Watch City Steampunk Festival.

In Summary

Just as you do not owe anyone your time, your attention, or physical contact, no one owes you theirs. Interacting with people you don't know well can be somewhat like first contact with an alien ambassador, so demonstrate respectful intentions and do your best to be a credit to the human race.

This document has been adapted from the ReaderCon and Smofcon codes of conduct,and we wish to acknowledge their work in this area.